2. Taut, firm, as a rope. See ex., kolia 2. hoʻo.mā.loʻe.loʻe To stretch, make taut.

There was a time when I would get into different fitness routines: yoga, pilates, Zumba, Crossfit–oh, by far the worst. Wait. There is one worse than Crossfit. I forgot about the Honolulu Marathon. Whoa. I am confident that on some level, you can all relate to this feeling of māloʻeloʻe. You know. When you can’t lift your arm or sit or stand up properly the next day. And then the following day after that it is even worse. Yeah. I am thinking māloʻeloʻe is that ʻeha, that pain. Oh my gosh. Auē. Ouch. Gee, I am reliving the māloʻeloʻe as I type this!

I remember the moment I first learned this Hawaiian word. It was hula practice. And we were learning a new mele: Maikaʻi Kauaʻi, Hemolele i ka Mālie. The lines goes like this:

A no ka loihi loa no hoi o kahi i hoe mai ai, ua hele a luhi loa kela poe, kiki ka hou, maloeloe na lima, nui ka hanu – And because of the long length of time one paddled, that person became very tired, swear poured out, hands were stiff, breathing heavily… (click here)

“E holo oe mai keia wahi aku, a hina, ala ae no holo; ina oe i maloeloe, noho iho, make oe ia’u.” – Run from this place, and if you fall, arise and run; if you become tired and rest, you will be killed by me.” (From the moʻolelo of ʻUmi)

Hope this māloʻeloʻe feeling in my arms, from working muscles not accustomed to the movement of weed pulling, digging, and composting goes away soon.